Auto Insurance Claims: Injury in a car accident, fault accidents, soft tissues

Question
I was injured 11 yrs ago in a car accident, rear-ended by a semi and had a lot of soft tissue and neck problems as a result.  After 4 yrs of medical bills and treatment, I learned to live with what I would call "as good as it is going to get" pain in my neck and back.  Then 22 months ago, I spun out on the ice, did a 360 twice, and landed my car in a ditch.  This re-injured my neck and upper back and caused additional trauma to my soft tissues in my back.  I have been under-going treatment ever since.  The insurance company has subjected me to two IME's now to try to end my treatment, and I was finally starting to get better and have a lot of success this past few months with less pain, headaches, and troubles with my back.  Then just two days ago I rear-ended someone while going about 50 mph.  Neither of our cars had much damage and gratefully no one seemed too hurt, so we just let each other leave.  Problem is, now my neck and back are killing me again.  WORSE than ever.  I couldn't turn in this most recent accident (my fault of course) because my insurance would have cancelled me, (I'm 41 yrs old, but hubby and I had a bad year last year with both of us having at fault accidents and a few tickets).  So no one knows about it.  My chiropractor who was truly helping me and his treatments were getting things better and where they needed to be, will now have to start again as I'm all messed up again.  How do we report this on my medical records, I know it's an exasperation of my condition, but YIKES.  I need the care, and I really think that without this additional trauma I wouldn't have to have care for much longer at once a week I might have been able to go to 2x a month or 1x a month.  I know that my neck will never be the same, and it will always need something, as it is just not right... but I must somehow be able to keep getting care without the insurance company continuing to try to end it.  Otherwise I end up with migraines and in bed and not functioning.  HELP... thanks so much


Answer
Hi Cherie,

I would NOT report the accident to my insurance, but I would get some mention of it to your doctor. He is smart enough to know how his bills are being paid, and there is NO WAY he is going to consider this new little tap of an accident as something that he wants to terminate the spigot of insurance dollars coming his way. He will thus make a small note that it was inconsequential.  

You ARE NOT a doctor, so please do not assign any particular power to the new accident to have exacerbated your preexisting condition.  It DID NOT.  The only pain you felt afterward was due to the stress of the accident that caused your soft tissue to tense up.  Got it?  

NO physical damage was done by such a small accident.  Let the doctor make that decision.  Hence, you simply report "for the record only" that this was a VERY MINOR accident, resulting in no damage whatsoever, and the doctor will either make note of it or he will ignore it.  But in any event, you will have covered yourself from any kind of a fraud claim by your insurance.  

AS for the IME, on the earlier accident, you can divert that because of the second accident.  Your PIP or Med/Pay covers your at-fault second accident. Hence, use that as a causation factor for your continued pain.  

BTW, when you report this new accident to the doctor, do not use the 50mph talk as that naturally makes one think of a big trauma.  But instead you can say that both cars were travelling the same speed and you nudged the one on front.  The fact that the other driver did not want your insurance information is PROOF that there was insufficient impact to cause any trauma whatsoever to your body.

I trust that my time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com